Nashville Nights

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GROSSET & DUNLAP
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Copyright © 2008 by FREAKY TWIN POWER. All rights reserved. Published by Grosset & Dunlap, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014. GROSSET & DUNLAP is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. .

 

 

 

eISBN : 978-1-440-68807-2

“Good night, Nashville,” Aly yelled into her microphone. The screaming crowd at the Sommet Center clapped and cheered. Aly grabbed her sister AJ's hand and they ran off the stage together.

“Wow!” AJ panted as she tried to catch her breath. “What a rush!”

“You bet,” Aly said as she snagged a bottle of water off of a table. She gulped it down. “But we're not done yet!”

The concert crowd was clamoring for more.
Clap, clap, stomp. Clap, clap, stomp.
The stadium shook as the fans clapped their hands and stomped their feet in rhythm to get Aly and AJ back for one last song.

AJ grabbed Aly's water and took a big swig. “Okay—let's do this!”

The girls raced back onto the stage. The crowd went wild.

“We couldn't leave you all without doing one more song,” Aly said into the microphone. “How about this one?”

Aly and AJ nodded to their band. The drummer, Tommy, began tapping out the beat. Matt, the lead guitarist, and Jeffrey, the keyboardist, joined in. Soon the bass player, Malcolm, was playing along. The crowd went wild as they recognized the song “Walking on Sunshine.” It was originally recorded back in the 1980s by a band called Katrina and the Waves. Aly and AJ loved it so much they recorded their own version on their album
Into the Rush.

“I used to think maybe you love me, now baby I'm sure, and I just can't wait till the day when you knock on my door,”
Aly and AJ sang together.

As they got to the chorus, AJ turned her microphone so it faced the crowd. “We know you know the words—sing it for us!” Aly urged.

“I'm walking on sunshine, and don't it feel good, hey!”
The arena echoed as everyone sang the words of the feel-good anthem.

They hit the last note and ran off the stage to thunderous applause.

“I love ending the show with that song,” AJ said. “It makes everyone so happy.”

Aly smiled. “What a great show! The crowd was so much fun. I love Nashville!”

Their mom, Carrie, and their tour manager, Jim, were waiting for them backstage. Carrie gave them each a big hug.

“Fantastic!” she exclaimed. “You both were wonderful. I was singing along the entire time!”

Jim smiled. “Everything went off without a hitch. No problems. That's always a good thing,” he said.

“You can relax now, Jim,” Aly teased. Jim was young and just out of college, but he was very organized and always worried about things running smoothly.

They all walked back into the dressing room. The girls grabbed a couple of bottles of flavored water before flopping on the couch.

“Faith and Hope Walker would like to talk to you,” Jim said.

“The new country music singing sister duo?” Aly asked. “They are awesome!”

AJ nodded. “I love their single, ‘Nothing Like a Sister.' It's so cool.”

“Bring them in, please!” Aly said to Jim. “I can't wait to meet them.”

Jim and Carrie left to find Faith and Hope. A minute later, the country music sensations walked through the door.

Faith and Hope were dressed simply, in jeans, boots, and T-shirts, but they both looked beautiful. Faith had long, curly brown hair that fell almost to her waist, and dazzling green eyes. Hope had dark brown hair cut in a sleek bob and the same emerald eyes as her sister. They broke out into huge grins when they saw Aly and AJ.

Faith let out a squeal. “I can't believe it—Aly and AJ right before my very eyes! You all are so talented. I can't believe we're standing in the same room as you!”

Aly and AJ stood up and smiled at the country singer sisters.

“Same goes for us,” AJ said. “Mad props on your new single. I've got it on my iPod. It's so sick it's contagious.”

“Your show tonight was amazing,” Hope said. “And I'm glad you like ‘Nothing Like a Sister.' It's the reason why we wanted to talk to you.”

Faith nodded. “I know this is short notice, but we would love for you both to be in the video for the song. I don't know how long you plan to be in town for, but we're going to be shooting tomorrow. We need to have the video done by next Sunday night for the National Music Awards. It's going to premiere then.”

“Wow, that's a big deal,” AJ said. Practically everybody in the country tuned in to the National Music Awards every year to watch singers and bands get honored for their songs and CDs. The hottest acts in music gave live performances between awards. And every year, the show aired a video from one up-and-coming act. Faith and Hope were lucky to have been chosen. Millions of people would see their video.

“Since the song is all about sisters, we decided to invite other sister music acts to be in the video with us,” Hope added. “It would be real amazing if you two could do it.”

Aly and AJ looked at each other, and their sister intuition kicked in. They both knew what the other was thinking.

“We would love to be in your video,” Aly said with a big grin on her face. “It sounds like a lot of fun. Are any other sister acts besides us in the video?”

Faith's eyes sparkled mischievously. “We're waiting to hear from two really famous sisters. I'd tell you, but I don't want to jinx it. Plus, if they agree, it'll be a real surprise.”

“Ooh, I like surprises,” Aly said. She looked at AJ. “What do you say?”

“I love the idea of a sister-themed video,” AJ answered. “We don't have to leave for our gig until Sunday, so we've got almost a whole week to spend here anyway. Let's go for it!”

Faith clapped her hands together. “Wonderful!” she exclaimed. “We'll give all the details to Jim.”

“Now how about letting us take you out for dinner tonight?” Hope asked. “When you come to Nashville, you've got to try some hot chicken!”

“Hot like hot in temperature, or hot and spicy?” Aly asked.

“Hot and spicy!” Faith said. “And we know the best place for it.”

“I don't know,” AJ said apprehensively. “Spicy doesn't always agree with me.”

Hope laughed as she linked her arm through AJ's. “Don't worry—they've got mild, too. Let's go. You'll love Nashville at night!”

“Music Row!” Jim said as he drove Aly and AJ through Nashville the next morning. “The home of country music.”

AJ looked up from the guidebook of Nashville she was reading. “It says here that Music Row is the heart of Nashville's music industry. It is home to record labels, recording studios, video production houses, and radio stations,” she said.

Aly took a large gulp from the coffee she was holding in her hand. “I need caffeine this morning. We got to bed a little late, although I'm glad we went out with Faith and Hope.”

“We have so much in common,” AJ said. “They've both been singing since they were little, just like us. And we like a lot of the same music, too. It will be a blast to shoot this video with them.”